9 Ways to Give Back This Season

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A participant in The Empowerment Plan sews one of 3000 coats the organization expects to make this year.
(Courtesy of The Empowerment Plan)

This year, give a special kind of gift for the holidays by supporting one of these worthy causes.

1.The Empowerment Plan

Mission: Trains homeless women to manufacture self-heating, insulated coats for distribution to shelters; this year, the group will produce about 3,000.Backstory: In Veronika Scott’s hometown of Detroit, 1 in 42 people is homeless. So for a college project, she created a coat that converts into a sleeping bag. Yet when she brought the design to a nearby shelter, one homeless woman pointed out that what they could really use was something to sustain them beyond any frigid Michigan winter: They needed jobs. Says the 24-year old, “We’re looking for women who are going to take the training we offer and run with it. And they have.”How you can help: $20 provides the raw materials for one sleeping bag coat; $50 helps provide training for a newly hired employee. Donate at empowermentplan.org.

2. Salvation Army Adopt-a-Family for Christmas

Mission: Matches struggling families with individuals or group sponsors who provide them with holiday food and gifts.Backstory: In line with the organization’s mission to feed, clothe, comfort, and care, this program helps countless families each year. The Ochoas from Nashville are one of them: Joseph and Briggett, who are both hearing-impaired, have four children, the eldest of whom is severely autistic. In 2011, generous Santas provided the Ochoas with dishes, silverware, clothes, towels, sheets, bikes, and even a couch. “It felt like bricks were lifted off our backs,” signed Briggett. “Without the Adopt-a-Family program we would have had a blue Christmas instead of a wonderful one.”How you can help: Sponsors are asked to fill a family’s Christmas wish list, which typically includes clothing and toys. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org for more information.

Mission: Provides food-service training and job placement for disadvantaged Seattleites.Backstory: Chef David Lee set out to feed the homeless. Soon, he realized he could train the individuals he was serving for careers in food service. Today, FareStart runs a 16-week training program, a restaurant, and a catering business; over 80 percent of its graduates now work in the hospitality industry.How you can help: $50 buys one student a pair of kitchen-safe shoes. Donate at farestart.org.

Jake Lillis, who has worked with One Step Ahead since 2007, participates in the Tough Kids Triathlon. (Courtesy of One Step Ahead Foundation)

4. One Step Ahead Foundation

Mission: Helps provide child amputees with prosthetics, rehab, and sports opportunities.Backstory: Founder Amy Palmiero-Winters lost her left leg in a motorcycle crash. Thanks to a prosthetic, she competes in ultra-endurance events and even holds a marathon world record. She created the not-for-profit organization to give young victims the same chance to enjoy athletics.How you can help: Donate at onestepaheadfoundation.org.

5. Concern Worldwide’s Philippine Relief Fund

Mission: To provide the poorest victims of Typhoon Haiyan with clean water, shelter, and sanitation.Backstory: In early November, the storm devastated the eastern seaboard of the Philippines with its 195 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rains. Concern Worldwide estimates that millions are still in need of aid.How you can help: $32 buys an emergency kit and plastic sheeting for a family who lost their home; $64 provides food and blankets for five. Donate at concernusa.org.

Lieutenant James Hill-Harris investigates a house fire. (Courtesy of Detroit Public Safety Foundation)

6. Detroit Public Safety Foundation

Mission: Helps the city’s fire and police departments continue to function at a high level amidst Detroit’s bankruptcy filing and ongoing debt crisis.Backstory: When the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy earlier this year, all of its public servants were affected. According to executive director Catherine Govan, the Foundation recently secured federal grants that brought 115 laid-off firefighters back to work, purchased new turnout gear (coats, boots, helmets) for some stations, and helped implement a program called Ceasefire Detroit to address gang violence and youth homicide. For 2014, there’s a long list of needs ranging from fire truck upgrades and repairs to veterinarian fees for the K-9 Unit and mounted horse patrol.How you can help: Donate at detroitpublicsafetyfoundation.org.

Mission:Assists low-income, primarily female immigrants in the San Francisco Bay area in starting their own food businesses by providing expert mentoring, financial assistance, and cooking space in an intensive 3- to 5-year program.Backstory: Inspired by the community food culture in the Mission District of San Francisco, the organization was created to help bring small businesses to life. Anna Tvelova, 36, is a prime example: She came to the U.S. from Russia in 2007. Searching for a career, she thought of making piroshki, little empanada-like bread pockets, according to her mother’s recipe. With La Cocina’s help, Tvelova perfected her piroshkis, raised capital, and will soon have three Anda Piroshki kiosks around the city with 10 employees.How you can help: Donate and learn more at lacocinasf.org.

8. Scholarship America

Mission:Provides tuition-assistance to students who can’t otherwise afford a college education.Backstory: Founded in 1958, Scholarship America has distributed nearly $3 billion in scholarships to almost 2 million students. Gina Rosa from New Orleans is one of them. The youngest of nine children, Gina’s mom passed away when she was three. Her dad remarried but his second wife died of cancer, leaving him with medical expenses and mortgage payments he could not meet. The family went on welfare and lost their home. But Gina’s dream of attending college was made possible by a scholarship to the University of New Orleans. She has since earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting and is now working on her Ph.D. “Thanks to their support I have the opportunity for a career rather than just a job,” she says.How you can help: Donate at scholarshipamerica.org.

A Create Now student works with artist Tim Cornelius on a mural that will be displayed in his middle school. (Courtesy of Create Now)

9. Create Now

Mission: Gives at-risk and abused kids the chance to participate in the arts.Backstory: Los Angeles holds a trio of sad honors: a high poverty rate, a high number of homeless children, and one of the largest gang communities. The city’s at-risk and abused children aren’t only lacking basic comforts and safety—they’re in need of joy and an outlet for self-expression, says Create Now founder Jill Gurr. More than 33,000 needy kids, many of them living in shelters, group homes, and detention centers, have participated in Create Now’s programs, ranging from painting classes and creative writing workshops to music concerts and museum field trips.How you can help: $3 will send a foster kid to a theatrical production, while $20 buys drums for the group’s music workshops. Donate at createnow.org.